With the end of the school year fast approaching, schools across Australia will once again host an array of school formals, graduations, debutante balls, awards ceremonies, and socials. Here is a modern-day guide to running school events effectively. Our research has shown that the prevailing issues are:

• how to respect the right of adult alcohol consumption–without abusing it:
• how to create a safe space for LGBTI students; and
• how to address the ever-lingering question: what is a gender-appropriate dress code?

Banning adult drinking – is this a ‘nanny-state’ reaction?

Adult alcohol consumption at school events has been a trending issue in many secondary schools. While more and more school principals are banning adult consumption of alcohol in the presence of students, these changes have been met with varying levels of success.

According to a recent Monash University report (Report), one Victorian principal received death threats from a parent after announcing a 'dry debutante ball'. Responses to alcohol bans are at times physically violent–'there have been episodes where adults have had physical and verbal fights at school events in front of children,' the study found. At other times responses are moralistic, with some school teachers accusing their schools of 'denying them a basic human right.'

In a country of social drinkers, it is not surprising to find that parents and teachers have a strong attachment to their 'alcohol rights'.

But is banning alcohol at school events an infringement of our basic human rights? While a seemingly bizarre question, it is tied to many important public policy considerations.

In a statement to the Herald Sun, lead researcher Dr Bernadette Ward from Monash Rural Health, states that principals are often torn between both the duty of care to their students and Australia’s culture of social drinking. While schools should not strictly regulate the conduct of all parents and staff members; thus creating a restrictive ‘nanny-state’, they should also be aware of the effects of negative role-modelling on children.

In 2003, 26% of Australians aged 14 years and older reported being a victim to alcohol-related harm, according to the National Drug Strategy Household Survey. Evidence shows that children form memory associations to alcohol before they formally start drinking themselves and thus, when adults drink alcohol at school events, the positive image of alcohol consumption becomes a psychological ‘initiation to alcohol’. This is a form of ‘negative role modelling’, which therefore worsens the rate of alcohol-related harm experienced by young people. According to the Report, 'schools may be underestimating their role in socialising children to alcohol use.'

So what can schools do?

While treading the line between teacher and parent freedoms and student duty of care is difficult, schools should establish a clear policy and guidelines around alcohol consumption at school events to help clarify their position on the issue. In NSW, State departmental policy holds that alcohol is prohibited at any school event where children are present. The Victorian State department policy, however, is more lenient and gives the ultimate decision-making power to principals.

Independent and Catholic schools should ensure that their alcohol policies reflect current social concerns, whilst also incorporating alcohol and drug-related awareness into their curriculum. But whether or not your policy adopts a ban on alcohol, schools must challenge the normalisation of binge drinking in Australian culture. The most important way to do this is through the appropriate regulation of school events themselves. Our social norms state that social drinking is a core component of a 'good' life. Breaking down this perception is the first step to changing student attitudes and managing student welfare.

LGBTI students and same-sex partners – tensions within conservative communities

While school formals are often the highlight of many high-school experiences, these events can be frightening and alienating for many lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender and intersex (LGBTI) students.

In response to the potential claims of gender-orientated discrimination, the Victorian Government has developed a guide to hosting inclusive school formals. The key strategies include:

• getting students involved: developing a student-led planning committee in order to ensure all student voices are heard;
• inclusive dress codes: ensuring dress code policies do no exclude or discriminate against gender diverse or transgender students;
• all partners allowed: making it known that all students are permitted to bring partners, including partners and friends of the same sex or gender;
• zero-tolerance bullying policy: communicating to all students that the school has a zero-tolerance approach to negative language, homophobic or transphobic bullying and bad behaviour; and
• positive event promotion: ensuring that event promotion material includes inclusive representations of same sex, intersex or gender diverse individuals or couples.
• supervisor briefings: holding meetings with staff and adults supervising the event to ensure all supervisors support gender and sexual diversity and know how to address any homophobic or transphobic behaviour witnessed at the event.

Youth organisation Minus18 also runs an event called the Same Sex and Gender Diverse Formal, which provides LGBTI secondary-school students with the opportunity to enjoy a formal experience in a safe and inclusive environment. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, many students who turned up to the event had unfortunately been banned from attending their own school’s formal and denied the right of bringing their same-sex partner. Therefore, while initiatives like these are undeniably positive, schools should also ensure their own formals are inclusive enough so as to break down the pattern of rejection, segregation and invisibility commonly experienced by LGBTI students.

Student dress codes – a gendered terrain

Dress codes exist in all aspects of student life. They instil in students a sense of pride and social connection but can also tread the dangerous line of regulating student identity and suppressing diversity.

Student protests across the world depict the way dress codes can discriminate females and LGBTI students. Change.org is filled with student activists fighting against their school’s dress code, claiming that they are overly prescriptive and prejudicial. The inclusive dress code thus becomes a tool of influence.

Thus, while it is always important to ensure students dress appropriately, schools may want to consider if their events policies reinforce restrictive values. An inclusive dress code at all school events can help to develop a safe and inclusive social environment.

Why are school events important?

School events allow students to step outside their traditional school environment and function more independently of the rules and strictures of the school itself. They provide students with a snapshot of life beyond formal education, providing them with the confidence, independence and decision-making skills required in later life.

The proper running of school events is, therefore, both important and influential. When properly managed, schools are able to ensure these events are safe spaces for all parents, staff, and students.

What is your school events policy?